Financial intermediation and economic growth in Southern Africa

Using various indicators of financial development, this paperinvestigates the role of financial intermediation in stimulatingeconomic growth in Southern Africa. The results lend some supportto the hypothesis that financial development is positively correlatedwith the growth rate of real per capita GDP. This relationshipis more evident in regressions that use pooled data (5-yearcross-sections) than those using annual data. This finding suggeststhat the finance-growth nexus is a long-run phenomenon. Thedata indicate that while Botswana and Mauritius are catchingup with South Africa towards a high-income steady state, therest of the countries are stagnating to low income levels andlow growth rates.     

Motivation in sport and exercise: a comparison between the BRSQ and BREQ

Quality & Quantity - This study aimed to test whether the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire and the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire can measure the same constructs in...     

Shareholder-value maximization and product-market competition

We investigate product-market competition when managers maximizeshareholder value rather than their expected discounted valueof profits. If share-holders are imperfectly informed aboutfuture profitability, shareholder-value maximization can leadto either more or less aggressive product-market strategies.Lower rivals' profits lead investors to believe that the firm'scosts are low relative to those of its rivals and that the industry'sprospects are poor. If the former (latter) inference dominates,each firm tries to lower (raise) its rival's profits to increaseits own stock price. We also consider implications for corporatefinancial structure.     

Jumps and stochastic volatility: exchange rate processes implicit in deutsche mark options

An efficient method is developed for pricing American optionson stochastic volatility/jump-diffusion processes under systematicjump and volatility risk. The parameters implicit in deutschemark (DM) options of the model and various submodels are estimatedover the period 1984 to 1991 via nonlinear generalized leastsquares, and are tested for consistency with $/DM futures pricesand the implicit volatility sample path. The stochastic volatilitysubmodel cannot explain the 'volatility smile' evidence of implicitexcess kurtosis, except under parameters implausible given thetime series properties of implicit volatilities. Jump fearscan explain the smile, and are consistent with one 8 percentDM appreciation 'outlier' observed over the period 1984 to 1991.